We all live in an environment that has harmony in it. A chain where everybody is addicted to each other. As our bodies are imperfect, nature comes to solve that problem. The main knight in shining armour comes as our mind’s invention – Phytotherapy. It is a natural therapy that uses as their main tools – the plants, in a fresh or dried form, prepared in various ways, to balance the disorders in our body.
The importance of nature
There is no need to say that this form of healing is old as our planet, men used to search for a cure in different ways, but the best well-known possibility came up with using what we have all around us – plants.
Some may say that it is odd to talk much about it, but few know the essence of well-being, and the hard studies that specialists use to extract from the natural origin, the perfect agents that keep us alive. Phytotherapy is a synonym for herbalism and is regarded as alternative medicine by much of western medicine.
Modern Phytotherapy
Modern phytotherapy provides effective support for maintaining the good health of the population. One of the great advantages of phytotherapy is the fact that the absorption of active principles from plants is done naturally by the body, rarely having side or adverse effects (generally given by overdoses and non-compliance with the preparation). Science and experience require the growth and improvement of human health by using modern phytotherapeutic products as a means of disease prevention and as treatments that offer the most effective personalized natural solutions, promoting the concept of integrative medicine, which involves combining allopathic treatments with complementary therapies.
An integrative medical approach considers the assessment of lifestyle, sources of psycho-emotional stress, all potential predisposing factors that overlap with constitutional (native) factors that could produce an individual vulnerability to the disease. Modern phytotherapy has developed and branched in many directions, being enriched by each of them. Thus, gemmotherapy, apitherapy, Bach flower therapies, aromatherapy, diet therapy and many others are important therapeutic resources.
Those two rocks from the chess table in phytotherapy are
Regarding our past and why do we still use plant-based medicine that is an ancient practice which still persists today. There are several reasons why generations keep believing in the power of plants. Let us come with some of them.
There appears a new question: What plants are the apostles of your body’s nutritional religion? All plants and herbs have nutrients and vitamins, but some of them are so blessed with positive qualities, that we tend to use them all over: food, medicine, tea, cosmetics. Let’s illuminate this field with some names, worth mentioning everywhere. Please meet Peppermint, Holy Basil, Aloe Vera, Tulsi, Turmeric, Ginger, Calendula, Chamomile, Lavender, Plantain, Hops, Elecampane.
Studies
Studies have shown that people tend to gravitate towards plant-based medicines as a product of family tradition, making them a “first-stop” therapy for many people with mild to moderate illness, or those with multiple conditions. Several surveys suggest strong correlations between the use of herbal medicine and factors such as age, sex, education, socioeconomic status, and failed success of conventional therapies. In naturalistic circles, plant-based therapies are becoming more and more attractive due to their lack of harmful side effects and adaptogenic properties.
According to herbal medicine practitioners, the effect of the whole plant is greater than its parts. Critics argue that the nature of herbal medicine makes it difficult to give a measured dose of an active ingredient. There is no golden middle in this argument, just facts and the strongest one is: plants work, extracts work and our bodies need to work as well. That’s why we keep on doing our job, in maintaining the natural course of the body’s well-being.